Just two weeks ago, YWN published a letter (posted HERE) signed by numerous Rabbonim in Lakewood, as well as a signature by Hagon Rav Elyashiv Shlita against “unsavory rentals” in Lakewood NJ. This morning, the Asbury Park Press ran an article regarding this issue titled “Rabbis Admonish Orthodox Landlords”. Below are excerpts of the article written by Zach Patberg:

A perception that home burglaries have spiked, particularly in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods, has spurred the Orthodox leadership here to admonish landlords of its own religious sect about renting to “unsavory” tenants with dodgy backgrounds.

Typically insular in their governing of the Orthodox population, some of Lakewood’s top rabbis came out publicly with their criticism after a letter surfaced that cited “increasing pain and damage” being inflicted on the community. The letter, signed by 14 rabbis, pressured the landlords to screen applicants for criminal histories and rid their properties of troublesome occupants even if it meant a loss in business.

“This community has remarkable tolerance for each other — not perfect but nonetheless remarkable,” said Rabbi Aaron Kotler, chief administrator at the Beth Medrash Govoha yeshiva and member of the Vaad, Lakewood’s council of Jewish leaders. “(But) slumlords and landlords have the power to destroy any neighborhood — by simply not caring.”

Kotler was not a signatory of the letter. Nonetheless, he and other Vaad members support it. They point to a heightened sense of fear among residents due to a profusion of brazen home burglaries and assaults that they say stem partly from landlords allowing criminals and gang members to rent in town.

They also stressed that their focus on Orthodox landlords derives from the higher standard to which they hold them and not from a belief that they are entirely responsible.

Jewish residents have long complained about their homes being targets for criminals. Aaron Stefansky, who had some $2,000 in cash stolen a few months ago during a 4 a.m. burglary at his Forest Avenue home, blames the police.

“They should be patrolling more instead of sitting in Dunkin’ Donuts and messing around,” he said in frustration. “When people see a police presence, they’re more hesitant to do something.”

Officials acknowledge that Orthodox Jews, who make up about half of Lakewood’s population, are more vulnerable than other residents because of religious protocol that hinders them from taking certain security measures. But Lakewood Police Chief Robert Lawson said he has limited resources. “Give me more men and I can increase patrols,” he said. “I can’t blink my eyes and make it happen.”

Lakewood police did not supply 2007-08 burglary figures in time for this story. Some Jewish leaders have also requested updated crime statistics and expressed frustration at not receiving them. From 2003 to 2006, the township led the county in burglaries, peaking at 573 in 2006, the last year such data was recorded, according to state crime reports. Lawson said the burglary rate plummeted by 55 percent following some key arrests in April but did not give specific numbers.

Most recently, on July 18, three men were charged with breaking into a house on East County Line Road. One of them, Eric R. Tucker, was shot by the homeowner. Tucker, who later died from his wounds, lived at a Cherry Street address that, according to property records through 2007, is owned by Orthodox landlords.

While Tucker shows no criminal history, another of the suspects, Corey Morgan, who lives in a rental on Governors Road, spent nearly three years in prison on drug and burglary charges.

Repeated attempts to reach the landlords were unsuccessful.

Less than two weeks earlier, a rabbi was robbed and stabbed outside his Forest Avenue home. Police say one of the five suspects arrested, Liduvina Garcia, who was charged with fraudulent use of the rabbi’s stolen credit cards, lives in a McArthur Street rental. Property records show the address she gave police is for a residence owned by another Orthodox landlord. The owner said his property manager told him Garcia never lived there. The manager, who has been listed by the township’s zoning department as one of 10 landlords and property agents with the most egregious quality of life violations, declined to comment.

That many of the town’s crimes are committed by people living in rundown rental houses is no surprise. “If you look at the condition of these homes, the only people who are going to take them are those who can’t go anywhere else,” said Ed Mack, head of the township’s zoning department.

What startled Jewish leaders, though, was learning that a number of these houses were owned by Orthodox landlords who were leasing to perpetrators of crimes against fellow Jews. At the request of Deputy Mayor Meir Lichtenstein, himself a victim of multiple burglaries, Mack drew up the list of the 10 most problematic landlords. Most, if not all, were Orthodox.

“We as the community are saying we will not tolerate slumlords,” said Ben Heinemann, another Vaad member. “If you have property (to rent), you must do credit and background checks or you’re not being responsible.”

All of the landlords cited either declined to comment for attribution or could not be reached. One accused the town of driving out the Mexican day laborers, whom she viewed as largely reliable and honest tenants. The void, she said, is now filling up with less-than-reputable applicants.

The letter, which was translated into English from old Hebrew, speaks of unspecified landlords purchasing houses in neighborhoods where Orthodox residents at the time were absent but have since become the majority. It discourages these landlords from renting to “people not of the same values,” which signatories said referred to tenants of any race and religion with checkered pasts.

(Click HERE to be redirected to the APP website to read the article in full)